the vol. 47 no. 08 Skyscraper August 2020 AMATEUR ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF RHODE ISLAND  47 PEEPTOAD ROAD  NORTH SCITUATE, RHODE ISLAND 02857  WWW.THESKYSCRAPERS.ORG

In This Issue: 2 President’s Message Uncovering the Nature of Dark Matter 2 Watch "Our Town: Scituate" with Stellar Streams in the Milky Way 3 In Memory of Michael An online presentation by Ana Ambrose Bonaca from Center for Astrophysics. Upcoming 3 Pierre Mechain Saturday, August 1 @ 7:00 PM via Presentations Messier's Rival Zoom Comet-Hunter Contact Steve Hubbard (cstahhs@ Saturday, September 5 4 A Shower of Stardust: gmail.com) for Zoom Meeting link David Eicher, Editor of Prospects for the August and information. Astronomy Magazine: Perseid Meteor Shower Galaxies Globular clusters are large congregations 5 A View of Comet C/2020 of stars, which gradually lose their mem- Saturday, October 3 F3 (NEOWISE) bers to form thin and long stellar streams. AstroAssembly Online In pristine conditions, these streams have 6 NASA Night Sky Notes: Deneb a nearly uniform density, however, new Saturday, November 7 observations of one such structure in the Dr. Jonathan Grindley from 7 Nebula/Cluster Milky Way halo have revealed a likely site Center for Astrophysics: The in Sagittarius Messier 20 of perturbation. The on-sky morphology DASCH Project – Ten Years suggests a recent, close encounter with a 8 Dwarf Planet Ceres massive and dense perturber. Known bary- Later & Asteroid Seagrave onic objects are unlikely perturbers based Saturday, December 5 at Opposition on their orbital properties, but observations permit a low-mass clump of dark matter as Member Greg Shanos: 9 The Sun, Moon & a plausible candidate. This discovery opens A Guide to Collecting Planets in August up the exciting possibility that detailed ob- Meteorites servations of streams could measure the 10 July Reports abundance of dark-matter substructure Saturday, January 2 and thus shed light on the nature of dark 11 Astrophoto Gallery Mike Wenz: A Behind The matter. Scenes Look At The Hubble Ana Bonaca is a Fellow at the Institute for Theory and Computation, hosted by Telescope Phases of the Moon the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. She works on creating a 3D, Full Sturgeon Moon high-resolution map of the Milky Way August 3 15:59 halo, which is dominated by the elusive Seagrave Observatory is Last Quarter Moon dark matter. In her research, she collects closed until further notice. August 11 16:45 and employs data from ground- and space- based observatories, analyzes numerical Due to the outbreak of New Moon simulations and develops new statistical coronavirus, Seagrave Memo- August 19 02:42 tools. Ana obtained an Astronomy PhD rial Observatory will remain First Quarter Moon from Yale University and was awarded the closed to the public until Brouwer Prize for a distinguished thesis. August 25 17:58 further notice. President’s Message by Steve Siok So last night (July 21) Kathy and I were weeks progress the comet will head south meetings. Remember, you do not need a finally able to see Comet NEOWISE. It was from the dipper toward Leo, placing it in Zoom account to enter our meeting. Just positioned just below the bowl of the Big darker skies away from sunset. But it will click on the link in the announcement Dipper. I would like to share a couple of also be fading as it leaves the inner solar email sent to you. It will automatically let thoughts. Don’t think you are going to find system. Good Luck! you into the “waiting room”. The host will it right after sunset! At least in this area, we Plans are proceeding for a virtual Astro- let you in before the meeting starts. If you had to wait until after all the stars in the Assembly! We will host it on Zoom just like still have trouble please call a member to dipper were obviously visible to the naked our monthly meetings. We already have a help you out. eye. We used Stellarium to locate it. It might keynote speaker and are looking for a few And finally, our virtual meetings have be a good idea to start out with binoculars. more. We are trying for a theme of photog- attracted a long time member to rejoin us. First find the coma and then scan up to lo- raphy and imaging. The meeting will take Greg Shanos was a member in the 80’s and cate the tail. Look for the gas tail in addition place in the afternoon, no evening lecture. 90’s prior to moving to Florida. Greg will be to the dust tail. As you try to find it naked So keep in touch. More news will follow. presenting our December meeting. eye, begin with averted vision. Then see if Speaking of Zoom, several members So everyone, stay safe and keep looking you can see it direct on. As the next few have been reluctant to join our virtual up.

Watch "Our Town: Scituate" featuring Seagrave Memorial Observatory Originally aired on March 4 on Rhode Island PBS (WSBE channel 36), the Our Town installment featuring Scituate is now available on YouTube. This episode features Seagrave Memorial Observatory (begins at the 38:35 mark) and is narrated by society historian Dave Huestis. https://youtu.be/4C0ajLzzzVI?t=2315

The Skyscraper is published President Outreach Chairperson monthly by Skyscrapers, Inc. Steve Siok Linda Bergemann Meetings are held monthly, usually on the first or second 1st Vice President Observatory Committee Chairperson Friday or Saturday of the month. Steve Hubbard Jim Crawford Seagrave Memorial Observatory is open every Saturday night, 2nd Vice President New Member Steward weather permitting. Ian Dell'Antonio Tracy Prell

Directions Secretary Librarian Directions to Seagrave Memorial Observatory are Sue Hubbard Dave Huestis located on the back page of this newsletter. Treasurer Assistant Librarian Submissions Submissions to The Skyscraper are always welcome. Kathy Siok Weston Ambrose Please submit items for the newsletter no later than August 15 to Jim Hendrickson, 1 Sunflower Circle, Members at Large Historian North Providence, RI 02911 or e-mail to jim@ Francine Jackson Dave Huestis distantgalaxy.com. Laura Landen Editor Matt Ouellette E-mail subscriptions Jim Hendrickson To receive The Skyscraper by e-mail, send e-mail Trustees with your name and address to jim@distantgalaxy. Astronomical League Correspondent (ALCor) com. Note that you will no longer receive the news- Jim Crawford Jeff Padell letter by postal mail. Bob Janus

2 The Skyscraper  August 2020 In Memory of Michael Ambrose by Steve Siok

To all Skyscrapers, I am deeply saddened to have learned of the sudden passing of our member, Michael Am- brose. Michael is the father of our junior member, Weston Ambrose. Michael and Weston attended many meetings, observing sessions and AstroAs- semblies. Weston always brought a telescope to the observatory. He is also our assistant Librar- ian. Michael was an avid photographer and he was also interested in cacti and succulents. When he spent time in the desert Southwest he loved photographing the desert landscape with the night sky as a backdrop. He will be sadly missed. I extend Skyscrapers’ deepest sympathy to Weston, his mom, his older brother and to Mi- chael’s partner, Gordon. I will let all of you know about Michael’s obituary and other information as it becomes available. Respectfully, Steve Siok Pierre Mechain Messier's Rival Comet-Hunter by Francine Jackson

It's really nice to have a comet in the have discovered fewer comets than Messier, sky right now, the brightest in over two de- it was well-known at the time their comet cades. With NEOWISE still visible, perhaps counts were, for each, a matter of pride. It we should think of one of the major comet is said that one time Messier, so absorbed discoverers of the 18th century: Messier? in observing the sky, fell into a hole and No, Pierre Mechain. broke his leg. His major concern was that Born August 16, 1744, Mechain, despite Mechain could then surpass him in comet a lack of schooling, became a major force in counts. coastline surveying; however, when he met Mechain, although known more for Charles Messier, he added the observations his comet discoveries, his major work was of deep-sky objects, and, with Messier, be- mapping the arc of the Earth's surface, in gan to observe comets. order to determine a measurement which In his lifetime, Mechain is believed to would become the standard of the metric have discovered, or co-discovered, 11 com- system. Unfortunately, while traveling to about the measure of a human hair. ets. Like Messier, he was aware of the num- Spain, he contracted yellow fever, and never ber of deep-sky objects that could be mis- was able to continue, and confirm, his mea- Francine Jackson is a NASA Solar taken for comets, and documented them. surements. Although during his lifetime, System Ambassador, writes the All together, it is believed he discovered at it was feared his results were fairly large, weekly newsletter for Ladd least two dozen objects, and could be cred- satellite measurements in the 20th century Observatory See more at http://theskyscrap- ited with several others. seem to have determined that his error was ers.org/francine-jackson Even though Mechain is believed to

The Skyscraper  August 2020 3 A Shower of Stardust: Prospects for the August Perseid Meteor Shower by Dave Huestis After more than 45 years of enjoying per hour, around southern New England the splendor of the heavens, I still look for- we can usually expect to see no more than ward to a simple yet rewarding observing 60 shooting stars per hour. Moonlight will experience watching “burning rocks” fall- further reduce that number this year. ing from the sky. I’m referring to a mete- The Perseids, no larger than a thumb- or shower. There are about a dozen major nail, blaze across the heavens at 134,222 meteor showers and hundreds of minor miles per hour and completely disintegrate ones. During August we are fortunate to as they plunge through our atmosphere. encounter the second most productive (the In fact, J. Kelly Beatty, senior editor of Sky December Geminids are better) meteor & Telescope Magazine, makes this analo- display of the year — the Perseids. These gy. “The little nuggets in Grape-Nuts ce- meteors are a stream of particles stripped real (see accompanying photo) are a close sky map to locate this star pattern above off Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle’s surface by match to the size of particles that typically the northeast horizon. If you can identify the solar wind and left in orbit around the create meteors in our atmosphere.” The Per- the constellation of Cassiopeia, which looks Sun. Annually the Earth passes through seids are usually green, red or orange in col- like an “M” or “W” tipped sideways, then this stream and we experience a display of or. And some members of this shower are you’re close enough. As Perseus rises higher shooting stars. bright and often produce exploding fire- the number of meteors will increase. Don’t For 2020 the Perseids peak on the night balls. Also, fireballs may be more prevalent simply concentrate your gaze in that direc- of August 11-12, with the best time to ob- as we approach morning twilight. Why? At tion. The meteors can appear anywhere in serve as many meteors as possible between that time, we are hitting the meteor stream the sky, so constantly scan as much of the midnight and dawn. This shooting star head-on! Maximize your viewing oppor- heavens as possible without straining your display is the northern hemisphere’s most tunity by finding a dark sky location well neck. If the weather cooperates and you widely observed meteor shower because away any from light pollution. have the time, continue your observing ses- people spend more time with outdoor ac- The best way to observe any meteor sion until dawn’s early light overwhelms the tivities during late summer. Unfortunately, shower is to get comfortable on a chaise stars. a last quarter Moon rises around midnight lounge or blanket. During the Perseids you If the weather does not cooperate or not far from the radiant point in the con- must protect yourself from the hungry mos- you are unable to observe on peak night, stellation Perseus from where the meteors quitoes. (Last summer the EEE virus pre- try your luck on the nights before and af- appear to emanate. The Moon’s brightness vented many of us from observing the Per- ter. You won’t see 60 meteors per hour, but will somewhat reduce the number of me- seids. I prefer the cold December Geminids you may catch a couple of dozen or so. And teors to be seen. While the Perseid shower any day!) Perseus is well up in the northeast if you happen to see a stationary meteor can produce between 60 and 90 meteors sky after midnight. Use the accompanying (think about it—it’s headed directly at you), don’t forget to duck! And finally, while you are out there under the stars please take notice of Jupi- ter and Saturn. They will be located to the east (left) of the teapot asterism that is the constellation Sagittarius. Next month I will provide a brief observer’s guide to these beautiful distant worlds. Keep your eyes to the skies.

Dave Huestis is Skyscrapers Historian and has been contribut- ing monthly columns to local newspapers for nearly 40 years. See more at http://theskyscrapers.org/dave-huestis

4 The Skyscraper  August 2020 A View of Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) by Craig Cortis Because of the covid situation and the that might not have been noticed by you the best comet I’d seen since Hale-Bopp in facts that I don’t get a newspaper and don’t before. The proliferation of L.E.D. lights 1997. In fact, its nucleus looked almost stel- have email, a smartphone or any other everywhere has only exacerbated the situ- lar. After a few minutes I set up my 4.12” means by which to automatically receive ation. Astroscan reflector, with a focal length of any kinds of news alerts, I did not become The position of Comet NEOWISE in 442 mm. I used a 28 mm Plossl eyepiece aware of this bright new comet until around UMa on the evening of 7/18 made it form a for a low magnification of just 16 power and July 13. I caught a brief mention of the com- striking, nearly equilateral triangle with the an easy, wide field. The eyepiece had been et on a tv news show and looked it up on- stars Iota (Talitha) and Kappa UMa, which made by our own Ed Turco, a respected and line the next morning at work. A printout form the northwestern pair of the “Three well-liked senior member of this club. As of an ephemeris enabled me to plot its path Leaps of the Gazelle” pairs. This pair is sep- an aside to newer members who may not on a star atlas. Saturday night on 7/18 was arated on the sky by about 1.1 degree, yet is be familiar with him, Ed Turco is among a actually fairly clear at my home location in actually the tightest of the three wide pairs small, select group of astronomers in Sky- the southwest corner of Oxford, MA. The comprising the charmingly-named aster- scrapers who might be considered master Moon would become New on 7/20. ism. Iota UMa is 3.1 magnitude, Kappa is telescope makers and astronomical opti- My neighborhood is about 13 miles about 3.6 and an impossibly tight double. cians. We are fortunate to have him in our south-southwest of the center of Worces- ranks. ter, 2 miles west of I 395 and 5 miles north I did not expect to be able to see NE- of the Conn. state line. Usually there are OWISE naked-eye, despite all the hype and only 1 or 2 bright lights outdoors within reports of it being easily seen in that way. my direct view, but they’re hundreds of feet Therefore, I satisfied myself with the view away to the south and southwest and I can through the Astroscan and went back in- block them out by changing my observing doors by 9:50. The next night was cloudy, position or using my SUV as a screen. The but both Monday and Tuesday, 7/20 – 7/21, sky brightness here has markedly increased were reasonably clear. I again used the re- over the years but it’s still fairly dark com- flector on Monday and tried a 12mm Kell- pared to much of this region. I’m lucky to ner at 37 power in addition to the 28mm have a large property that’s fairly secluded, eyepiece, but the image was degraded. On bordered on the north and west by dense Tuesday night I used the 10x50 bino, fol- woods and big open lawns, on the east lowed by a 15x70 bino for a very pleasing and northeast by lawns and trees, and on view. The comet’s tail seemed to’ve in- the south and southwest by my astrono- creased in length and its overall brightness my-friendly neighbor who has come over had not dimmed since Saturday, 7/18. NE- with his daughter to observe special sky OWISE was still high enough by 10:00 p.m. phenomena several times with me over the on 7/21 to see above a treeline and I stayed last few years, for which he’s been very ap- out long enough so that the diminishing preciative. No problems with bright lights twilight revealed it easily to the naked eye. emanating from his property, thankfully. The tail looked to be roughly 5 to 7 degrees Comet NEOWISE on July 21 by Jim Hendrickson My house sits well above the nearby road, long. which runs parallel to and along the bottom Iota also is a double, but with a 9.5 magni- 7/25/20 p.m. further comet sightings in- of a high, long, steep embankment forming tude companion at only 2” separation, it’s cluded views at 9:15 - 9:25 and 10:10 using the eastern border of the property. Trees a challenge to split. The position is RA 08 my 15X70 bino and by naked-eye alone at line the top edge and slope of the embank- 59.2, Dec. + 48 degrees 02 minutes. I de- 10:10. The view by naked-eye was dim but ment and help to screen headlights along cided that 9:30 would be the best time to discernable; the comet's false nucleus on the road below. A 250 foot-long driveway begin observing, as it was a good compro- 7/25 had enlarged and dimmed a bit since completes the picture. mise between the lowering altitude of the 7/21 and its tail had become more wispy I’ve gone into such descriptive detail comet over the northwest horizon and the and diaphanous, as well as longer. At 10:10 about my home surroundings because my remaining twilight. (Nautical twilight was the comet was positioned such that it made sense is that many fellow astronomers tend not to end until 9:34, when astronomical a perfect "coathanger" - type triangle with to have at least some interest in knowing twilight would begin and last until 10:20 or the stars 57 and 55 UMa, mags.5.2 and 4.8. the basic observing conditions with which so.) The comet formed the center (or "hook") of others must contend, particularly with re- I started looking with a 10X50 binocular this triangle, and was north of the wide pair spect to lights and skyglow. It’s a shame we and almost immediately spotted the comet of stars. The Moon was still one hour and 17 always have to be so concerned with lights, right next to the two stars. The bright false minutes away from setting at 10:10. but it is unavoidable, after all. Those of you nucleus did indeed approximate the visual Good luck and best regards to you all – who are new to astronomy are undoubted- magnitude of Iota UMa and a nice, sharp- it’s been years since I last wrote anything ly becoming aware of this problem in ways ly-defined tail convinced me that this was for this newsletter.

The Skyscraper  August 2020 5 NASA Night Sky Notes: Summer Triangle Corner: Deneb By David Prosper The Summer Triangle is high in the sky after sunset this month for observers in the Northern Hemisphere, its component stars seemingly brighter than before, as they have risen out of the thick, murky air low on the horizon and into the crisper skies overhead. Deneb, while still bright when lower in the sky, now positively sparkles overhead as night begins. What makes Deneb special, in addition to being one of the three points of the Summer Triangle? Its brilliance has stirred the imaginations of people for thou- sands of years! Deneb is the brightest star in Cygnus Long exposure shot of Deneb (brightest star, near center) in its richly populated Milky Way the Swan and is positioned next to a strik- neighborhood. Photo credit: Flickr user jpstanley. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ ing region of the Milky Way, almost as a jpstanley/1562619922 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ guidepost. The ancient Chinese tale of the Cowherd (Niulang) and the Weaver Girl cause of its intense brightness. The distance brightest stars seen from Earth are within (Zhinü) - represented by the stars Altair to Deneb from our Sun was measured by a few dozen to a few hundred light years and Vega - also features Deneb. In this tale the ESA’s Hipparcos mission and estimated away, but Deneb stands out by being thou- the two lovers are cast apart to either side to be about 2,600 light years. Later analysis sands of light years distant! In fact, Deneb of the Milky Way, but once a year a magical of the same data suggested Deneb may be ranks among the top twenty brightest night bridge made of helpful magpies – marked much closer: about 1,500 light years away. time stars (at #19) and is easily the most dis- by Deneb – allows the lovers to meet. Den- However, the follow-up mission to Hippar- tant star in that list. Its luminosity is fantas- eb has inspired many tales since and is a cos, Gaia, is unable to make distance mea- tic but uncertain, since its exact distance is staple setting of many science fiction sto- surements to this star! Deneb, along with a also unclear. What is known about Deneb is ries, including several notable episodes of handful of other especially brilliant stars, is that it’s a blue-white supergiant star that is Star Trek. too bright to be accurately measured by the furiously fusing its massive stocks of ther- Astronomers have learned quite a bit satellite’s ultra-sensitive instruments. monuclear fuel and producing enough en- about this star in recent years, though much Deneb is unusually vivid, especially ergy to make this star somewhere between is still not fully understood – in part be- given its distance. Generally, most of the 50,000 and 190,000 times brighter than our Sun if they were viewed at the same dis- tance! The party won’t last much longer; in a few million years, Deneb will exhaust its fuel and end its stellar life in a massive su- pernova, but the exact details of how this will occur, as with other vital details about this star, remain unclear. Discover more about brilliant stars and their mysteries at nasa.gov.

This article is distributed by NASA Night Sky Network. The Night Sky Network program supports astronomy clubs across the USA dedicated to astronomy outreach. Visit nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov to find local clubs, events, and more!

Spot Vega and the other stars of the Summer Triangle by looking straight up after sunset in August!

6 The Skyscraper  August 2020 Nebula/Cluster in Sagittarius: Messier 20 by Glenn Chaple for LVAS Mag: 6.3, Size: 30’ This second installment of the “Summer of Sagittarius” takes us to M20, nick-named the “Trifid Nebula.” Like last month’s Ob- server’s Challenge (M8, the “Lagoon Nebu- la”), the Trifid is a nebula/cluster complex. It is also 5200 light years away and may be associated with the Lagoon. Although not a naked eye target, the Trifid Nebula is easily located just 2 degrees north and slightly west of the Lagoon; in fact, they can be viewed together in the same low-power, wide-field M20 in R,G,B, Lum, and a bit of Ha, to produce a color image with both the emission telescopic view. and reflectance part of the nebula. total about 5 hours. Taken with 32 inch scope M20 was discovered by Charles Messier and ASI6200 camera North is to the left. Image by Mario Motta (ATMoB) on June 5, 1764. William Herschel viewed it notes that the fourth leaf is fainter than the the same star? Don’t ask me. You’ll have to 20 years later and catalogued it as four sep- others, and jokingly adds that “you should ask William Herschel, and he’s not around arate objects. Oddly enough, his son John feel lucky if you glimpse it!” Check out H to provide the answer. saw three segments of the nebula, and was N 6 with high magnification. Can you spot the first to describe it as “trifid.” a magnitude 10.4 star just 6.2 arc-seconds The purpose of the Observer’s Challenge is My initial sighting of M20 occurred on north-northeast of the main star (essentially to encourage the pursuit of visual observing. the evening of August 20, 1977. Because I on the opposite side from its magnitude 8.7 It is open to everyone who is interested. If had just viewed M8 with my 3-inch f/10 re- partner)? This stellar pair bears the designa- you’d like to contribute notes, drawings, or flector, I was able to note that M20 is much tion H N 40. Why two catalog identities for photographs, we’ll be happy to include them fainter. Sharing a one-degree field with M20 in our monthly summary. was the open cluster M21. Because of the Submit your observing notes, low magnification used (30X), I failed to sketches, and/or images to notice the Trifid’s bright embedded double Roger Ivester (rogerivester@ star, identified by the William Herschel des- me.com). To find out more ignation H N 6AC (magnitudes 7.6 and 8.7, about the Observer’s Chal- spectral classes O8V and B6V, separation lenge or access past reports, 10.7 arc-seconds). Two summers later, I re- log on to rogerivester.com/ solved this pretty pair with the same 3-inch category/observers-chal- and a magnitude of 60X. A sketch of M20 lenge-reports. I made while attending the 2012 Stellafane Convention and observing with a 4.5-inch f/8 reflector (magnifying power 75X) shows both nebulosity (just 2 areas) and double star. Compare my sketch with an image made by Mario Motta with a 32-inch scope. Not only are four lobes visible (what Stephen James O’Meara likens to as a “four-leaf clo- ver”), but so is the intervening dark nebu- la (Barnard 85) that separates them. Also visible are the striking colors – red for the four-loped part of M20 (an emission nebu- la) and blue for the area surrounding a 7th magnitude star further north (left in Motta’s image). Its bluish hue indicates that it’s a re- flection nebula – a cloud of dust illuminated by the embedded star. Here are some challenges you might con- www.messier-objects.com (chart sider while observing M20. Are you able to from IAU and Sky and Telescope) see the four lobes of O’Meara’s “clover?” He

The Skyscraper  August 2020 7 Dwarf Planet Ceres & Asteroid Seagrave at Opposition by Jim Hendrickson Just a few degrees above Fomalhaut, "asteroid" comes from. While exploring this area, don't miss our closest dwarf planet Ceres reaches Another object of interest is nearby in Neptune, just 3° ENE of phi Aquarii. At opposition on August 28. It will be visible the sky. Asteroid 5574 Seagrave (1984 FS) magnitude 8, Neptune will be as easy to in binoculars all month just brighter than was named in honor of Frank Seagrave in spot as Ceres and should show a distinct magnitude 8, but it will be best to wait until 2014 in commemoration of the 100th anni- blue color through a telescope Neptune the Moon is out of the way beginning mid- versary of his observatory in Scituate. reaches opposition on September 14 at a month to make it easier to spot against the Although Seagrave is just a bit closer to distance of 28.922 AU. faint stars of southern Aquarius. Earth than Ceres at the end of August, at At opposition, Ceres will be just under 1.902 AU, it is much smaller and therefore Jim Hendrickson is newsletter and 2 astronomical units (AU) from Earth, but much fainter. It is estimated to be around web editor and has been a member even though it is a rather large asteroid at magnitude 16.2 at opposition on August for 20 years. See more at http:// 950km in diameter, it is too small and too 27. This should put it within visual range theskyscrapers.org/jim-hendrickson far away to show any discernible surface of a 16-inch telescope, and within imaging details in a telescope. In fact, it's star-like range of a more modest instrument on a appearance in a telescope is where the term tracking mount.

8 The Skyscraper  August 2020 The Sun, Moon & Planets in August

This table contains the ephemeris of the objects in the Solar System for each Saturday night in August 2020. Times in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4). Ephemeris times are for Seagrave Observatory (41.845N, 71.590W).

Object Date RA Dec Const Mag Size Elong Phase(%) Dist(S) Dist(E) Rise Transit Set Sun 1 8 46.6 17 56.8 Cnc -26.8 1891 - - - 1.01 05:40 12:52 20:04 8 9 13.5 16 03.8 Cnc -26.8 1892.8 - - - 1.01 05:47 12:51 19:55 15 9 39.9 13 58.1 Leo -26.8 1894.9 - - - 1.01 05:54 12:50 19:45 22 10 05.9 11 41.5 Leo -26.8 1897.5 - - - 1.01 06:02 12:49 19:35 29 10 31.6 9 15.8 Leo -26.8 1900.4 - - - 1.01 06:09 12:47 19:24 Moon 1 18 31.5 -24 48.4 Sgr -12.6 1894.1 148° E 92 - - 19:01 23:38 04:16 8 0 30.4 -3 04.2 Cet -12.3 1768.1 130° W 82 - - 22:17 04:20 10:32 15 6 00.0 22 49.3 Ori -10.8 1839.6 52° W 20 - - 01:51 09:42 17:34 22 12 38.3 0 17.4 Vir -10.4 1983 40° E 12 - - 10:03 16:06 21:57 29 19 14.6 -24 57.2 Sgr -12.4 1874 131° E 83 - - 17:46 22:26 03:10 Mercury 1 7 37.5 21 26.5 Gem -0.8 6.1 17° W 70 0.32 1.1 04:18 11:45 19:12 8 8 32.9 19 58.5 Cnc -1.4 5.4 10° W 90 0.31 1.25 04:54 12:14 19:33 15 9 31.2 16 29.5 Leo -2.1 5 3° W 99 0.33 1.34 05:40 12:45 19:48 22 10 25.2 11 40.8 Leo -1.7 4.9 5° E 99 0.37 1.37 06:25 13:10 19:54 29 11 13.1 6 20.1 Leo -0.8 5 11° E 94 0.41 1.35 07:05 13:30 19:54 Venus 1 5 35.3 19 16.9 Tau -4.3 27.6 45° W 43 0.73 0.61 02:24 09:41 16:57 8 6 01.4 19 47.8 Ori -4.3 25.3 46° W 47 0.73 0.67 02:21 09:39 16:58 15 6 29.5 20 04.7 Gem -4.2 23.4 46° W 51 0.73 0.72 02:20 09:40 17:00 22 6 59.2 20 03.0 Gem -4.2 21.8 46° W 55 0.73 0.78 02:22 09:42 17:02 29 7 29.9 19 39.4 Gem -4.1 20.3 45° W 58 0.72 0.83 02:27 09:45 17:03 Mars 1 1 13.1 3 35.0 Psc -1.1 14.6 111° W 86 1.38 0.64 23:02 05:18 11:33 8 1 24.1 4 33.3 Psc -1.3 15.5 115° W 87 1.38 0.61 22:42 05:01 11:20 15 1 33.6 5 22.4 Psc -1.4 16.4 119° W 88 1.38 0.57 22:21 04:43 11:05 22 1 41.3 6 01.2 Psc -1.6 17.4 124° W 90 1.38 0.54 21:59 04:23 10:47 29 1 46.9 6 29.1 Psc -1.8 18.4 129° W 91 1.39 0.51 21:35 04:01 10:27 1 Ceres 1 23 13.4 -20 33.8 Aqr 8 0.6 145° W 99 2.98 2.09 22:34 03:18 08:01 8 23 09.9 -21 22.8 Aqr 7.9 0.6 152° W 99 2.98 2.04 22:06 02:47 07:27 15 23 05.4 -22 12.2 Aqr 7.8 0.6 158° W 100 2.98 2.01 21:38 02:15 06:51 22 23 00.2 -22 59.5 Aqr 7.7 0.6 163° W 100 2.98 2 21:09 01:42 06:15 29 22 54.4 -23 42.2 Aqr 7.7 0.6 165° E 100 2.98 1.99 20:39 01:09 05:38 Jupiter 1 19 27.4 -22 17.3 Sgr -2.6 47.1 161° E 100 5.15 4.18 18:51 23:28 04:04 8 19 24.1 -22 24.7 Sgr -2.5 46.6 153° E 100 5.15 4.22 18:21 22:57 03:33 15 19 21.3 -22 30.9 Sgr -2.5 46 146° E 100 5.14 4.27 17:51 22:27 03:02 22 19 19.0 -22 35.9 Sgr -2.5 45.4 139° E 100 5.14 4.34 17:22 21:57 02:32 29 19 17.2 -22 39.6 Sgr -2.4 44.6 132° E 99 5.14 4.41 16:53 21:28 02:03 Saturn 1 19 59.9 -20 50.2 Sgr 0.1 18.4 169° E 100 10.01 9.01 19:18 00:01 04:43 8 19 57.8 -20 56.5 Sgr 0.2 18.3 161° E 100 10.01 9.04 18:49 23:31 04:13 15 19 55.9 -21 02.4 Sgr 0.2 18.2 154° E 100 10.01 9.09 18:20 23:02 03:44 22 19 54.2 -21 07.6 Sgr 0.2 18.1 147° E 100 10.01 9.14 17:51 22:32 03:14 29 19 52.7 -21 12.2 Sgr 0.3 18 140° E 100 10.01 9.21 17:22 22:03 02:45 Uranus 1 2 33.3 14 34.0 Ari 5.8 3.6 89° W 100 19.79 19.79 23:41 06:37 13:33 8 2 33.6 14 35.1 Ari 5.8 3.6 95° W 100 19.79 19.67 23:14 06:10 13:06 15 2 33.7 14 35.4 Ari 5.8 3.6 102° W 100 19.79 19.56 22:47 05:43 12:38 22 2 33.6 14 35.0 Ari 5.7 3.6 109° W 100 19.79 19.44 22:19 05:15 12:11 29 2 33.4 14 33.8 Ari 5.7 3.6 116° W 100 19.79 19.33 21:51 04:47 11:43 Neptune 1 23 27.1 -4 44.7 Aqr 7.8 2.3 139° W 100 29.93 29.16 21:46 03:31 09:16 8 23 26.6 -4 48.3 Aqr 7.8 2.3 145° W 100 29.93 29.09 21:19 03:03 08:48 15 23 26.0 -4 52.2 Aqr 7.8 2.4 152° W 100 29.93 29.03 20:51 02:35 08:20 22 23 25.4 -4 56.4 Aqr 7.8 2.4 159° W 100 29.93 28.98 20:23 02:07 07:51 29 23 24.7 -5 00.8 Aqr 7.8 2.4 166° W 100 29.93 28.95 19:51 01:35 07:19 Pluto 1 19 41.5 -22 25.7 Sgr 14.3 0.2 164° E 100 34.09 33.11 19:07 23:43 04:18 8 19 40.9 -22 27.9 Sgr 14.3 0.2 157° E 100 34.1 33.16 18:39 23:14 03:50 15 19 40.3 -22 29.9 Sgr 14.3 0.2 150° E 100 34.1 33.22 18:11 22:46 03:22 22 19 39.7 -22 31.8 Sgr 14.3 0.2 144° E 100 34.11 33.29 17:43 22:18 02:54 29 19 39.2 -22 33.5 Sgr 14.3 0.2 137° E 100 34.11 33.37 17:15 21:50 02:25

The Skyscraper  August 2020 9 their clubs. Linda Bergemann sent a list July Reports of the Astronomy clubs in New England to Steve Siok and Steve Hubbard. They will Skyscrapers Executive Committee make contact with the presidents to start New Members Meeting via Zoom this on a trial basis. If it is successful, then Welcome to Skyscrapers Monday, July 13, 2020 @ 7:30 PM more local groups will be invited to partic- Meeting called to order by Steve Siok @ ipate. A Sydney Johnson 7:36PM 3. AstroAssembly Planning Prog- Present: Steve Siok, Kathy Siok, Steve ress/Discussion (Ian D.) Hubbard, Sue Hubbard, Ian Dell’Antonio, a) Registration – $10.00 per person for Edward McGiveney Linda Bergemann, Jim Hendrickson, Bob registration. PayPal will be used on our Horton, Laura Landen, Jim Crawford, Jeff website and Linda B will be Registrar for T Christine Stevens Padell, Bob Janus, Francine Jackson Total the event. There will be an option to make 13 an additional donation to Skyscrapers with This meeting was recorded and all at- the registration fee. tendees agreed. b) Speakers- Per Steve Hubbard, Babak 1. Treasurer’s Report (Kathy) Tafreshi, a National Geographic photogra- a) Dues are still coming in. Kathy is still pher, has agreed to be our featured speaker. reaching out to those members who have Other suggestions include: Adam Block, not paid. Travis Rector, Steve O’Meara and David b) Our Verizon service has been sus- Levy. Ian Dell’Antonio will make contact pended until further notice, saving us $80 with the first two speakers and check on per month. their availability and if so get permission to We are grandfathered in to keep this record their talks. Presentations should be rate, as the current rates have risen. 45 minutes, include Q&A. Members of the Observatory committee c) Advertising: Kathy Siok will send out will keep an eye on the property and call the information to NSN, Astronomical League, trustees if there is any problem they need to S&T, Astronomy magazine and to other attend to, as the security cameras have been amateur societies. suspended. Thank you to Jim Crawford for d) Program: Ian will put together a one working on this issue. page program for the event. Francine Jack- a) Insurance Coverage is currently be- son volunteered to proofread materials. We ing reviewed by a subcommittee of Kathy will not be asking for advertising for this Siok, Jim Crawford and Sue Hubbard. Sue program. has much experience in this area and will e) The day’s program will include 10 serve as the point person. There will be a minute breaks between speakers and pre- The winner of my Create a Con- report of findings as soon as this review is sentations of Seagrave and past Astro As- stellation Contest is Scarlet Selby, completed. The objective is to get the best sembly events will be presented. Laura a 9-year old girl in the 4th grade at coverage for the best price and to protect Landen will put together a power point of Hope Elementary School in Scituate. the organization. Kathy believes the renew- photos submitted by members. Laura and al takes place in December. Jeff Padell will work on videos of Seagrave Her entry was "Soccer Star". This is 2. Night Sky Network (NSN): (Linda) Observatory. what Scarlet said of her constella- A membership spreadsheet is ready to f) Host: Laura also volunteered to host tion: be sent to NSN. Message Groups have been the Zoom sessions for AstroAssembly and set up. Only 1 member has opted out of record the speakers. Soccer Star joining NSN and will be contacted by Lin- g) Jim Crawford will contact Scott Tracy She is very important because she is da. Steve Siok made a suggestion that we and ask him to MC the event and to act as a the first woman to play on a profes- advertise our virtual AstroAssembly as part co-host on Zoom. sional men’s soccer team in the Major of International Space Week (October 4-10, 4. Jim Crawford inquired as to Soccer League. When you look up at 2020) on NSN. Re: NSN events calendar, whether an audit has been completed. “Soccer Star” you should feel like you there will be no open nights at Seagrave in It has not yet been done. Steve Siok will can do whatever you try hard to do. August. Steve Hubbard suggested that we appoint a committee to complete an audit. advertise our virtual monthly meetings Audits are usually completed at the end of By Scarlet Selby to other local astronomy clubs. There was each Treasurer’s term, so this audit will be discussion concerning sharing the link too done for the last 2 years. Scarlet and her family will receive a freely. It was decided to share the link and 5. Next Meeting Monday, August 17, complimentary Skyscrapers family password for upcoming meetings with the 2020 at 7PM. via Zoom membership. presidents of ATMs of Boston, ASSNE and Adjourned at 8:40 PM. Congratulations to Scarlet! Springfield Stars and ask them to distribute Respectfully submitted, the information to interested members of Sue Hubbard, Secretary

10 The Skyscraper  August 2020 The Space Station flying between the Big Dipper and the Comet NEOWISE on July 18, as seen from Shippee Sawmill Astrophoto Gallery Pond in Foster by Bob Horton. The Skyscraper  August 2020 11 Comet NEOWISE by Lloyd Merrill: Date: 07/15/2020; Time: 9:38 EDT; Camera: Canon 7D; Lens: Sigma 70-200 f2.8; ISO: 1000; Exposure time: 4 sec; F-stop: 2.8; Focal length: 200mm

Comet NEOWISE on July18 on Plum Island after sunset. Visible naked eye, including the tail, below the Big Dipper, from a dark sky site like a beach. In low power binoculars, it's spectacular! By Pat Landers.

12 The Skyscraper  August 2020 Comet Neowise over Sharon MA by Dan Padell taken with a Canon 70D

Prominence on July 14 by Jeff Padell. Images taken 30 minutes apart.

I finally saw Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE on Tuesday, July 21, a bit of low cloud cleared early but some high haze persisted. The comet was naked-eye visible with a 3° tail in Bortle 4 skies. Tail extended over 5° in 10x50mm binoculars. Nucleus very concentrated, ion tail only shows in photos. I also saw the very thin 2% waxing crescent Moon, but it was in the clouds then trees before I could get the camera out. Image by Jim Hendrickson.

The Skyscraper  November 2016 13 As AR2765 moves off the face the proms become visible. Notice the difference in it in the space of 15 minutes on June 17. Images by Jeff Padell.

This is probably the last image I get of Neowise. The comet is getting dimmer and we now have a waxing moon gaining in brightness every night. This black and white image was taken using the following setup: Date: 07/25/2020; Time: 9:30 - 10:00 pm EDT; Camera: Canon 7D; Lens: Sigma 70-200 f2.8; ISO: 800; Exposure time: 5 sec; F-stop: 2.8; Focal length: 200mm; 60 - 5" second images stacked using MaximDL and post-processed using Pixinsight. By Lloyd Merrill.

Jeff Padell Completes AL Globular Cluster Program

I finally completed the Globular Cluster award, imaging 50 selected globular clusters from the Messier, Palomar, Cald- well and NGC lists. It took me about 2 years to complete the task and about 8 hours to do the paperwork.

Any member can start any of the different award programs and when they are done they submit their work to me and I then check it and forward it to the AL. I am currently work- ing on the Planetary Nebula Award, the Open Cluster Award, and the Binocular Messier Award.

Here is the website where I stored the images Jeff Padell Globular Clusters https://solarhead.shutterfly.com/astrole- agueglobularclusters

Astronomical League Globular Cluster Observing Program https://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/globular/globu- lar1.html

14 The Skyscraper  August 2020 Comet NEOWISE on the evening of July 15 by Bob Horton.

The Skyscraper  August 2020 15 Directions to Seagrave Memorial Observatory From the Providence area: Take Rt. 6 West to Interstate 295 in Johnston and proceed west on Rt. 6 to Scituate. In Scituate bear right off Rt. 6 onto Rt. 101. Turn right onto Rt. 116 North. Peeptoad Road is the first left off Rt. 116.

From Coventry/West Warwick area: Take Rt. 116 North. Peeptoad Road is the first left after crossing Rt. 101.

From Southern Rhode Island: Take Interstate 95 North. Exit onto Interstate 295 North in Warwick (left exit.) Exit to Rt. 6 West in John- ston. Bear right off Rt. 6 onto Rt. 101. Turn right on Rt. 116. Peeptoad Road is the first left off Rt. 116.

From Northern Rhode Island: Take Rt. 116 South. Follow Rt. 116 thru Greenville. Turn left at Knight’s Farm intersec- tion (Rt. 116 turns left) and follow Rt. 116. Watch for Peeptoad Road on the right.

From Connecticut: • Take Rt. 44 East to Greenville and turn right on Rt. 116 South. Turn left at Knight’s Farm inter- www.theSkyscrapers.org section (Rt. 116 turn left) and follow Rt. 116. Watch for Peeptoad Road on the right. • or • Take Rt. 6 East toward Rhode Island; bear left on Rt. 101 East and continue to in- tersection with Rt. 116. Turn left; Peeptoad Road is the first left off Rt. 116.

From Massachusetts: Take Interstate 295 South (off Interstate 95 in Attleboro). Exit onto Rt. 6 West in Johnston. Bear right off Rt. 6 onto Rt. 101. Turn right on Rt. 116. Peeptoad Road is the first left off Rt. 116.

47 Peeptoad Road North Scituate, Rhode Island 02857